Four Takeaways As Patriots’ Overtime Loss Vs. Titans Spoils Drake Maye Outing

Drake Maye and the New England Patriots forced overtime following a gutsy two-minute drive, but the Tennessee Titans did enough to claim a 20-17 overtime victory at Nissan Stadium on Sunday.

The Patriots fell to 2-7 while the Titans improved to 2-6.

Here are four takeaways from Patriots-Titans:

Patriots need to find ways to win those games
Maye delivered magic when he led the offense on a game-tying drive in the final two minutes of regulation. The Patriots covered 50 yards on 11 plays, including a ridiculous snap in which Maye kept the play alive before he lofted one to Rhamondre Stevenson for a five-yard touchdown on the final play of regulation. It undoubtedly will serve as a highlight on Maye’s career film. But the Patriots couldn’t carry that momentum into overtime. The defense allowed more than five yards per play against the Mason Rudolph-led offense. Mason Rudolph! The Patriots now have lost close games to Miami Dolphins third-stringer Tyler Huntley and Rudolph (20-for-33, 240 yards, two touchdowns), who gifted Jahlani Tavai a red-zone interception with a poor throw in the first half. The Patriots need to win ugly games against lowly opponents, but until they do, they’ll remain at the bottom of the league standings.

Maye was sensational, needs more opportunities in ground game
Maye showcased legitimate dual-threat ability as he picked up 95 rushing yards on eight rushing attempts, all of which were scrambles and not designed runs. New England needs to let Maye do more in the run game. The unimaginative first-down handoffs to running backs frequently put Maye’s offense behind the chains and forced second-and-long or third-and-long. Taking the ball out of Maye’s hands at the end of the first half — after he started the drive with consecutive completions — was a terrible decision, too. Running backs combined for seven yards (!) to that point. Why not let Maye lead a two-minute drive as he proved capable during his first career start? Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt told reporters he was going to stay away from designed runs since Maye was coming off a concussion. They can’t continue to operate that way going forward. If he’s out there, the Patriots need to give Maye the keys.

Sound alarms on running game
The Patriots certainly ran like a “soft” team Sunday. Because while the box score might tell you the Patriots finished with 110 rushing yards on 5.5 yards per carry, that’s including the quarterback. New England’s running backs combined for 15 yards (!) on 12 carries in regulation. Fifteen yards on 12 carries! That’s horrendous. The Patriots needed to pick up one yard to move the chains at the end of the first half. JaMycal Hasty was stopped for no gain and Stevenson was stopped for a loss on third-and-1. Even on a third-quarter touchdown drive, the Patriots finished with two yards one three rushing attempts. New England didn’t call a run play on their two-minute possession.

Edge in special teams
The Titans entered Week 9 with a historically bad special teams play, and it showed itself on multiple instances including a penalty on the opening kickoff. It proved to be an advantage for the Patriots with punt returner Marcus Jones gifting the visitors favorable field position twice — including to start their game-tying, two-minute offense possession. Jones returned two punts for 69 yards, each of which gave the Patriots the ball at midfield. Meanwhile, Titans returner Jha’Quan Jackson fumbled twice on special teams, including a fourth-quarter punt and the opening kick in overtime. Tennessee recovered both.

Bonus: Rookie benched in second half
It was a curious decision for the Patriots to start a different offensive line than the one that performed better against the New York Jets in Week 8. But that’s what New England did when it inserted Layden Robinson at right guard and shifted Mike Onwenu to right tackle. Titans defensive lineman Jeffrey Simmons took Robinson’s lunch money during the first half, which prompted the Patriots to bench the rookie fourth-rounder. Demontrey Jacobs was re-inserted into the lineup at right tackle and Onwenu moved back inside to right guard.